According to the Unicef report “State of the World’s Children 2023” published today, global childhood immunization saves 4.4 million lives each year. In 2030, thanks to vaccinations, this number is expected to rise to 5.8 million. The effect of routine vaccinations can be seen, for example, in measles. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, measles killed about 2.6 million people worldwide, mostly children, each year. According to UNICEF, that number will drop to 128,000 by 2021.
But protection against deadly diseases such as polio, measles and many more is under threat as vaccination coverage worldwide declines, the UNICEF report shows. Vaccination rates are declining, especially in poor and medically underserved parts of the world.
On the one hand, this has to do with the pandemic. The UN Children’s Fund estimates that between 2019 and 2021, 67 million children missed all or part of their routine vaccinations. Vaccination coverage has fallen to a level not seen since 2008. Healthcare systems are often overwhelmed and the shortage of healthcare workers has worsened. The stay-at-home advice has prompted parents to postpone standard vaccinations.
Measles outbreaks also in Europe
On the other hand, too many children were unvaccinated before the pandemic, UNICEF writes in the report. Especially in poor, medically disadvantaged countries. But things are not going well in the richer countries either. There, vaccinations against polio and tetanus have decreased only slightly during the pandemic. “However, in many of these countries, measles vaccination coverage is suboptimal, putting them at risk for future measles outbreaks,” said Jürg Keim of UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
As recently as 2019, the European region experienced a measles emergency, with more than 160,000 reported cases in a 17-month period. There were also two deaths from measles in Switzerland at the time. Even a small drop in immunization coverage can lead to an outbreak of a preventable disease. So it came back to cases of polio in England and the United States, which were considered polio-free.
Vaccination fatigue and associated disinformation
Vaccine fatigue is one of the biggest threats to public health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Confidence in vaccines seems to have declined more globally, especially among younger age groups. Corona has reinforced this as, according to UNICEF, many more people around the world have started looking for information on the internet due to the pandemic, according to UNICEF. That opened the door to false information and deliberate disinformation.
The mix of fake news on social media and increasing polarization about vaccine issues has led to a dwindling trust in expertise in many societies. “Vaccination fatigue and the misinformation that comes with it is one of the leading reasons for under-vaccination around the world today,” says Keim.
The UNICEF report lists some examples of misinformation that has eroded confidence in vaccination. In 1998, an article was published linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism. The article was soon exposed as fake news and later retracted. The spread in the media kept the disinformation alive and caused vaccination rates to drop, especially in England, the country of origin.
The fatal consequences of fake news were also visible in Pakistan in 2019. A staged video claimed that a polio vaccine sent children to the hospital. The fake video of children in hospital beds led tens of thousands of parents to take their children to hospital for no reason and a mob set fire to a clinic in Peshawar, killing three people.
Spreading accurate information and preventing the spread of misinformation is therefore critical to ensuring every child is protected with life-saving vaccines, says Keim.
Conspiracy theories thrive in times of uncertainty
Belief in rumor and conspiracy theories about vaccines is often an expression of public fears and concerns. They usually arise in times of social insecurity.
Conspiracy theories often flourished after revolutions, for example after the Russian Revolution when the idea of an international Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy became popular. “In many countries, the lack of trust in key institutions involved in the production, supply and distribution of vaccines is also a critical part of the skepticism,” says Keim.
According to the UNICEF representative, several studies have shown a link between vaccine hesitancy and populist mistrust of political elites and medical experts. For example, a 2019 EU study found a clear positive relationship between support for populist parties in elections and low confidence in the importance and effectiveness of vaccines. But once trust in vaccines has been eroded by misinformation, it’s hard to regain trust in these people with scientific facts.
There is also social media disinformation in Switzerland and this has intensified during the pandemic. And the number of vaccine doses administered during the pandemic has also fallen here, confirm Anita Niederer, an infectious disease specialist at the Children’s Hospital in Eastern Switzerland, and Christoph Berger from the Children’s Hospital in Zurich.
However, not as pronounced as in other countries. “We only had a short lockdown in Switzerland and much shorter school closures than abroad,” says Berger, who also chairs the Vaccination Commission. This more open approach to the pandemic has helped keep the drop in standard vaccinations during the pandemic small.
In Switzerland even more people are being vaccinated
“Measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations have actually increased over the past 20 years,” says Anita Niederer. According to the BAG, vaccination coverage increased from 70 to over 90 percent between 2005 and 2020. “We are getting closer to the 95 percent target for measles vaccinations,” says Berger. The goal is a vaccination rate of 95 percent, because that’s how you eradicate measles in a country. The same applies to polio, which is vaccinated as a combination vaccine with tetanus and diphtheria. The vaccination rate is even higher than for measles.
This increase shows that the vast majority of Swiss parents decided to have their children vaccinated, while a vocal, small minority decided otherwise. “Of course there are communities that are vocally against vaccination. But there are also many parents who are simply unsure, but let the facts convince them in direct contact with the paediatrician,” says Niederer. Berger believes that the total number of anti-vaccination opponents has not increased during the pandemic.
Vaccine skeptics shouldn’t all be lumped together, says Keim. In order to tackle vaccine skepticism and disinformation in the long term, it is important not to just fight symptoms, ie refute the disinformation. “You have to track down the reasons why there is no confidence anymore in vaccination and the vaccination campaign,” says germ. It must be ensured that the public has access to life-saving health information from reliable sources in their own community and is not misled by misinformation on the internet.
UNICEF is therefore providing healthcare providers and communities with evidence-based information on vaccines. “Through community involvement and building partnerships, we are building trust. This also includes entering into alliances with civil society organizations and religious communities,” says the Unicef representative.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
